Mecum Celebrity Auction slated for July 26-27

John Lennon's sunglasses, Ringo Starr's ring part of Celebrity Auction at Mecum

John Lennon's "Lost Weekend" glasses & Ringo Starr's "Power Ring" will be at the Mecum Celebrity Items Auction

 

 

Mecum Auctions, known for its collector car auctions, has announced its first celebrity auction taking place in July in Santa Monica. More than 2,000 items will be featured in the Mecum Celebrity Items Auction including personal items and artifacts from Steve McQueen, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Hunter S. Thompson and more.

Two high-profile items from ex-members of The Beatles were both consigned by their ex-girlfriends: A pair of John Lennon prescription sunglasses worn by Lennon in the mid-70s during his 'Lost Weekend' when he spent time with former girlfriend, May Pang; and a custom-made ring worn by Ringo Starr that was given to him in 1976 by his ex-girlfriend, Nancy Andrews.

Ringo can be seen wearing the silver and gold Electrum diamond 'Power' ring on the cover of his 1977 album, 'Ringo the 4th.' Both Pang and Andrews will be at the auction to authenticate their items.
Steve McQueen fans will take note of his 'Yucatan' trunks (circa 1969-1971) which are also up for auction. The two trunks contain '16 leather-bound notebooks filled with drawings, storyboard illustrations, photographs and a detailed story pitch' for 'Yucatan', a movie intended to be the follow-up to McQueen's racing flick, 'Le Mans'. Although the film star worked on developing the film for two years, 'Yucatan' never got made. The film is currently in pre-production with Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role.

The bulk of the auction will feature items from the collection of John Hagner, curator of the Hollywood Stuntman's Hall of Fame. Hagner's extensive collection includes movie memorabilia from 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade', 'Captain America' and other classic films.

Mecum Celebrity Items Auction: Celebrating the Legendary History will take place at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, CA on July 26 and 27. A silent auction featuring select items will begin online at www.MECUM.com on July 5.

Book Soup hosts Robert Relyea on Sept. 10

Movie executive was Steve McQueen's right hand man

Producer Robert E. Relyea, a fifty-year veteran of the movie industry and Steve McQueen’s right hand man at Solar Productions, will appear at a world famous book store on the Sunset Strip this month to promote his new action-packed autobiography.

The two-hour signing will take place 7 p.m. Wednesday, September 10 at Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Relyea will be signing copies of Not So Quiet On The Set: My Life In Movies During Hollywood’s Macho Era, which promises to become a must read for anyone who yearns to know the “real” stories about the movies.

Co-authored by son Craig Relyea, Not So Quiet On The Set provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes, first person look into Hollywood’s movie-making landscape during the turbulent pre-and post-Kennedy years in America. The book also chronicles Relyea’s friendship, business relationship and canon of films with McQueen, which includes Never So Few, The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, Bullitt, The Reivers and Le Mans.

The 348-page work includes candid photos of Relyea on the sets of epic films and presents rare insights into the mechanics and politics of film making, defining a dynamic period in motion picture history. A unique collaboration between father and son, Not So Quiet On The Set not only illustrates how the movie industry really works, but also provides a revealing portrait of Hollywood’s loss of innocence.

For more information, go to www.booksoup.com or www.NotSoQuietOnTheSet.com.